The Navarre Raiders (10-0, 3-0) set a school record for best regular season, knocked off rival Niceville and recovered from a 13-7 deficit.

All in the same night.

But with all of the accomplished feats, there was little surprise for the Raiders ... this was all expected.

In the second quarter, Navarre snagged its first lead of the night after Caine Adamson scampered 52 yards on a quarterback keeper to put the Raiders up 14-13.

The Raiders didn't know it then, but their hard-hitting, stingy defense would shut out Niceville for the remainder of regulation.

Navarre's next score was what Raiders head coach Jay Walls called the "turning point" of the game.

And it came in familiar fashion.

As Niceville lined up to punt inside their own 10-yard line, Navarre linebacker Xavier Fernandez exploded through blockers and blocked the punt – his fourth blocked punt of the season – before recovering the football in the end zone to put the Raiders up 21-13.

"I'm happy, we just beat Niceville," said Fernandez, who entered the game with eight sacks on the season. "This will be a lifelong memory. We finished 10-0, set a school record and beat Niceville. We are heading to the playoffs. I can't even explain the feeling."

The Raiders gave up an explosive 72-yard TD to Eli Stove on Niceville's first drive.

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Navarre special teams.(Photo: Brian Achatz/bachatz@pnj.com)

But that was the only time the Auburn commit found the end zone on Friday night.

"I'm not surprised with how our defense played," Fernandez said. "We've been working hard this year. Last year we were good, but this year we are twice as good. We just expect to win."

It was a scene that brought a ear-to-ear smile to even a hard-nosed coach like Walls, who held his grandson on the field post game.

"It's just a great feeling," Walls said. "All the credit goes to our kids and coaches ... they worked like crazy for us. Niceville has gotten us the last two years. They are a great team. Tonight our kids played great in all three phases."

Navarre will shift its attention to the postseason, as the Tate Aggies (7-2, 2-1) come to town Friday for the Region 1-6A quarterfinal.

"We're just focused on doing everything we can to be 1-0 next week," Walls said.